NEWS

The Duchess only had one official engagement this week, but we did get to see her twice courtesy of a new candid photo from the Daily Mail. The news outlet posted a photo of the Duchess of Cambridge out shopping in Chelsea. Click to read more >

On Friday, Kensington Palace released the dates of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's upcoming royal tour of India and Bhutan! The week long tour will run from 10th to 16th April 2016. Click here for itinerary details >

The necklace is much sparklier in person than on the sales page. It has a delicate Edwardian feel to it and looks like a genuine piece of fine jewelry instead of costume. Unless they saw the back, most people will believe it is real diamonds and gold. The stones appear to be prong set and the chain is adjustable so the wearer can pick the length that works best for her.

Although I originally thought the empty spaces were bigger than on the real one, when I looked at the picture of it on my neck, I think it has the same proportions as Kate's after all. If I had one complaint, it is that it seems to be missing a little of the metal detailing, which was not lacking on their Asprey Woodland necklace, but I still think this is a good as it gets in terms of a replica. It is really very pretty and worth the $36+$4 shipping.

SAVVY SALES

It's no secret that one of my favorite places to hunt for repliKates is Dillard's! This week, you can get a whopping 40% off a huge range of already reduced stock! SHOP >

FASHION UPDATES

This week, Kate's go-to designer Alexander McQueen showcased their Fall 2016 Ready to Wear collection in London. Vogue has a beautiful write-up on the collection which I'll draw on below.

The show opened with tailored black coats, variously jacquarded with pocket watches, lips, and butterflies, or sculpted from fine leather and then hand-painted with flowers by a specialist floral artist.

As the sequence went on, the dresses became feminine with lacy bras and sheer fabrics.

There was also a series of evermore elaborate chiffon, tulle and feather gowns.

I don't think any of these garments are candidates for Kate's closet, but I can't help be in awe of Sarah Burton's creative genius!

Let's move away from the fantasy land of the runway and take a look at some ready-to-wear pieces from McQueen's Pre Spring-Summer 2016 collection which recently hit the racks. Here are some possible contenders for Kate's closet:

For me, this glorious silk-chiffon gown takes the cake! It begs to be worn by the Duchess and I pray to the fashion gods that my dreams are realized!

I always love hearing from fellow repliKaters, so if you would like to submit a review of your recent repliKate purchase or showcase your repliKate outfit/closet, please drop me a line atadmin@katescloset.com.au

NEWS

On Wednesday, the Duchess of Cambridge took on a new role as guest editor of the news website, Huffington Post UK. She helped launch their "Young Minds Matters" initiative and wrote an eloquent article for the website's blog. Click to read more >

The following day, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge returned to Anglesey to bid farewell to Search and Rescue (SAR) operations at RAF Valley where Prince William served as a SAR pilot. Click to read more >

24th Feb 2016
The Duchess of Cambridge will visit three school-based charity projects in Edinburgh. The focus of the day will be on the partnerships that exist locally between charities, communities and schools to deliver a range of integrated programmes and sport.

WHAT'S NEW IN KATE'S CLOSET

This week, Kate debuted three new pieces from her closet:

Reiss 'Vinnie' blouse US$230

D&G bouclé wool-blend skirt US$895

Brown suede pumps (unidentified)

REPLIKATE ROUNDUP

Below are my favourite repliKates of the week ...

H&M US$34.99

Topshop £36

Tahari ASL US$159.99

Hobbs £139

Boden US$118

DVF US$224

ABS Collection US$299

New Look £19.99

Catherine Deane US$175

Uniqlo US$29.99

Hobbs £79

Lacoste £60

REPLIKATE CLOSET

Giulia, a frequent contributor to Kate's Closet has kindly showcased some of her favourite repliKate outfits. Giulia has shared details of her outfit and where available I have added a product link. You can follow Giulia and her repliKate outfits via Instagram.

Here are three outfits I put together using my latest replikates. They could be an idea if you are thinking to buy some Kate’s items and you want an inspiration about what to match them with.
I usually mix low cost brands as H&M with real Kate’s item and the result seems to be great!

FASHION UPDATES

ME+EM has added some new colour options for their popular breton stripe top, including emerald green and a navy thin stripe.

----------

Each week I like to devote a little time browsing the websites of Kate's favourite brands and designers. This week the new arrivals at Goat Fashion caught my eye. I fell in love with the three crepe dresses below, and thought they would be a perfect fit for the Duchess!

While browsing Goat Fashion's latest styles, I noticed they offer a dress version of their 'Washington' coat. The good news is, it's about about 30% cheaper than the coat!

I always love hearing from fellow repliKaters, so if you would like to submit a review of your recent repliKate purchase or showcase your repliKate outfit/closet, please drop me a line atadmin@katescloset.com.au

NEWS

That same day, The Duchess of Cambridge helped launch Place2Be’s Children’s Mental Health Week 2016. As patron of the charity, Kate delivered a prerecorded video message on their behalf. Click to read more >

Kensington Palace has announced some upcoming engagements for the Duchess of Cambridge:

17th Feb 2016
Kate will join The Huffington Post UK as guest editor from Kensington Palace. She will be highlighting the importance of children's mental health and helping to launch "Young Minds Matter".

PRODUCT REVIEWS

Giulia (lelepug) is a frequent contributor to Kate's Closet and she has been busy stocking up on a few essential Kate items these past few months! She has kindly reviewed her recent purchases which include the Azuni Earrings, Mint Velvet Bea Plimsolls and Beulah London Shibani Scarf!

The packaging was a white paper box and inside there was a little fabric bag with Azuni’s logo on it, there was also a little folded paper bag adorned with a little bow and Azuni’s logo as well to use in case of earrings are a gift for someone else, I love this attention and care of details.

They are so tiny and delicate, just amazing. I expected the stones were pretty opaque but surprisingly they are so shiny and sparkly as the gold metal is as well.

I think they are a great idea as a first “real” Kate’s item because of their super affordable price and because they are very versatile.

P.S. I posted a pic of them on my Instagram account and I tagged Azuni’s page, they immediately left a nice comment about how they are satisfied when also their customers are and I really appreciate when customer service take care about their customers even after they did a purchase.

I ordered my Mint Velvet 'Bea' at John Lewis.
Shipping was pretty fast (I ordered them on Saturday and I received them in the middle of the following week, so about 8-9 days) and their tracking service works so well, I could follow the shipping step by step.

They came in their box and wrapped into white paper, other paper was inside every shoe to keep them in the right shape.

I ordered my usual size and when I tried to wear them they were pretty narrow but I think it is because of their slim shape, once your foot is in they are perfect in length, the only doubt is about two spots (on both outer side, by both pinkies) that hurt pretty much, I talked with some girls that have them too and they said it is normal, after 4-5 times it doesn’t happen anymore, at the moment I wore them only once so I’m using patches and it’s ok!

About the product and how it is made I can say they are simply perfect, when you have them on you can perceive they are high quality shoes since they simply look great, no wrinkles on the fabric (real suede), no visible glue or other flaws. They look perfect, I love this, it is like they would say “we are a pair of well crafted shoes”. They make a really good impression.

I ordered my scarf via Beulah’s official website and I chose “click and collect” as shipping method since a friend of mine would have been in London and she offered to pick the scarf for me.

I wrote to Beulah’s customer service to be sure everything was ok and I told them the exact day my friend would have been there. On that day unfortunately their shop was closed for unforeseen circumstances and my friend wasn’t able to get the scarf. I sent an email to Beulah and they immediately told me they would have shipped the scarf free of charge and expressed their deepest apologies for the inconvenience.
They shipped the scarf on Monday and I received it the day after (I live in Italy)! I was very impressed!

The Shibani came all wrapped into a WONDERFUL white paper box with red ribbon, gold Beulah’s logo and an envelope addressed directly to me with their best wishes for Christmas. Inside the box it was wrapped into red paper with their gold logo again.

Now let’s talk about the scarf itself, one word: STUNNING. It’s super soft (wool and silk mix), bigger than how I expected and perfumed with a “clean and fresh” scent.

So my experience with Beulah was absolutely great despite of the inconvenience, I really appreciate their thoughtfulness to fix any problem and I absolutely would buy again from them!!

FASHION UPDATES

One of Kate's favorite designer, Jenny Packham has a diffusion line called No. 1 Jenny Packham. It is an exclusive collection done in collaboration with the UK department store, Debenhams. I recently noticed that they restocked the Gold Sequin Maxi Dress, which is identical (as far as I can see) to the original Jenny Packham gown worn by the Duchess to the Tusk Conservation award ceremony in 2013. The best part is, it retails for a fraction of the price of the original! SHOP >

The diffusion line also has a clutch similar to the one Kate carried to the ﻿James Bond movie premiere﻿. It too is a fraction of the price of the original Jenny Packham 'Casa' clutch! SHOP >

----------

Kate has got a lot of wear out of her Mint Velvet Bibi plimsolls! If she's looking to replace them with a fresh pair, she might choose Mint Velvet's new-season 'Emily' plimsolls. The 'Emily' sneakers are identical in style to Kate's 'Bibi' but they have been updated with a contrasting metallic silver back and grey suede tab.

----------

Each season, LK Bennett offers an updated collection of their iconic 'Sledge' pump in a range of fresh colours. This season, they introduced the 'Sledge' in Pearlised Champagne patent leather. The soft blush tone is neutral and coordinates with any outfit, while the pearl finish works well with evening or formal wear.

SAVVY SALES

Stuart Weitzman has permanently reduced their popular 'Corkswoon' and 'Minx' wedges by a whopping 50%!

I always love hearing from fellow repliKaters, so if you would like to submit a review of your recent repliKate purchase or showcase your repliKate outfit/closet, please drop me a line atadmin@katescloset.com.au